AmazonFresh launches medieval mince pie

The limited edition pie, made by one of London’s oldest butchers C Lidgate, is filled with minced beef, sherry, spices and dried fruit. It costs £4.50 for 450g and serves four to six people.

Along with the savoury ingredients, C Lidgate’s interpretation also embraces the traditional shape of the original festive favourite – it’s much larger and rectangular in shaped compared to today’s single-portion round sweet mince pies.

“Mince pies have a long and rich history, from their medieval origins as meaty, spicy and hefty treats for the wealthy, to the more everyday individual pies we're more familiar with today,” explained Annie Gray, TV Food Historian and research associate at the University of York.

“Given how long the Christmas mince pie contained meat for, it is apt that one of London’s oldest butchers, C Lidgate, has created this pie inspired by the past.”

Deborah Honig, head of local shops & markets, AmazonFresh added: “Being able to offer our customers fresh, high quality, innovative foods like these medieval mince pies, is exactly why AmazonFresh works hand in hand with local shops and markets like C Lidgate.”

For those wishing to recreate the medieval mince pie, C.Lidgate provided a basic recipe.

Ingredients:

450g Cooked Beef, Minced

450g Suet

600g Currants

600g Raisins

300g Candied Peel

900g Apricots, Minced

450g Dried Apple

4 Lemons, Zested

1kg Sugar

600ml Sherry

1tbl Spoon Ground Ginger

1tbl Spoon Ground Nutmeg

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 220C/425F/G7

Mix the minced meat with all the other filling ingredients

Mould ¾ pastry into a 20cm spring form tin to make the base and sides

Fill the tin with filling

Roll out the remaining pastry for the lid, moisten the sides with water and press the lid firmly in place and crimp to make a tight seal.

Trim the edges and use the surplus to decorate the top. Cut a hole in the middle of the lid.

Bake in the centre of the oven for 15 minutes, and then reduce the temperature to 180C/350F/G4 and bake for a further 75 minutes